Our oldest child and "Solstice baby" is four years old!
He is probably about 29 lbs (well child check scheduled in January) and still small for his age, at probably 6-10% for weight, but has grown three inches in the last year per the marked wall in his room. He wears 2T-3T shirts/tops and 3T bottoms.
He has been on four continents (North America, South America, Asia, and Europe) by four!
He attends a preschool daycare five days per week (two days are 3/4 days).
He goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., with a routine of bath or shower/two books and then two stories plus 10 min of cuddle time in the dark, and then periodic check-ins every 5-10 minutes until he's asleep (lately, he's enjoyed listening to Peter Rabbit on audio during this time). He usually but not always sleeps through the night, but is still an early riser (up between 4:45-5:45 a.m. most days). Born at 6:15 a.m. on the dawn of the solstice after one of the longest nights of the year, he's certainly made our nights long and has always been a morning person! He still has the toddler ok-to-wake alarm clock in his bedroom, can read the digital numbers, and knows we'd
love him to stay in bed until "GREEN" at 6, but sometimes his bladder and bowels wake him sooner, and, while we still have him in a nighttime pull-up until he shows us multiple dry days, he requests parental help. He naps for 1-1.5 hours on about half of the days (at preschool but generally not at home).
He eats constantly. For breakfast, he eats raisin bread/bagels or cereal/oatmeal, and sometimes yogurt/fruit. He loves: pizza, quesadillas, carne asada and rice, noodles, spicy hotdogs, potstickers, "baby pho," as well as frozen peas, green beans, baby carrots, broccoli, and all fruits, particularly dried ones (raisins and grapefruit are his favorites). He does enjoy sweets, and we let him choose two nights during the week to have dessert, rather than negotiating all the time. He seems to be hungry constantly, and we have to limit the constant snacking, or at present him with healthy choices.
He is bubbly and extroverted, and talks constantly. He likes making up stories and has an excellent memory. He can write all letters, most of his friends' and family members' names, and read short words. He can use chopsticks and tie his shoes. He can do simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication. He is really, really funny* (see conversations below). He is sensitive, intense, and passionate. He is a staunch negotiator, is very stubborn and opinionated, and thrives on routine, order, and rules.
He loves: books (current favorites are Mo Willems' Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs and Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit), stories, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, songs and singing, "arts and crafts" (drawing, writing, cutting/pasting, coloring), running and playing chase at the park or gymnastics gyms and bounce houses, swimming and hot tubs, building forts, and messing with his brother. He doesn't do much screen time, but is captivated by The Wizard of Oz, and has enjoyed the original Mary Poppins and Netflix's Peter Rabbit. He likes to wear jeans and shorts, but loves my leggings and asks to be able to wear some, as well as pants that he's outgrown, which he'll refer to as "capris-es." Papa (Kelvin) is his favorite person.
He wanted cake pops to bring to preschool for his fourth birthday, so I (out of my element) slaved away. It was a multi-day process which caused me much anxiety and they surely aren't pinterest-worthy; however, (I know because I tasted the severely deformed ones) they turned out okay. The things we do for love...
Opening some gifts (he'll always benefit from Christmas boxes and bags)
*Friday Four-Year-Old Funnies
Iver has been very into writing lately. One day, I noticed an "Iver" written in pen on the Ikea table.
Me:
Hey! Why is there an "Iver" written on this table? Writing should not
go on furniture nor walls, just on paper. Do you know who did this?
Iver (with a totally straight face): Niall.
I also asked him why he was writing most letters in uppercase, while he uses a lowercase "r" i.e. IVEr or TArA.
He told me, "Lowercase Rs are just easier to write. That's why I do that."
I asked him if he wanted to come outisde into the yard with me to dump food scraps into the compost cone while Niall was napping one morning.
When outside, he (ever the rule-follower) stated, "You're breaking the law."
Me: What do you mean?
Iver: You're not allowed to leave the baby inside alone.
Kelvin and I were arguing about something and he told us, "Guys! Just let it go!"
Last weekend, it was pouring rain on Sunday and I told him that we should snuggle and watch a Christmas movie.
Iver: Like the EX-ist?
Me: Excuse me? What movie did you mean?
Iver: You know, that scary one.
Me: YOU MEAN THE EXORCIST??? (Don't worry. He has not seen this movie. But I think Kelvin had mentioned it. I have no idea why he could remember that). No, not that one. That's neither a kids' nor a Christmas movie. I was thinking more like "The Grinch."
Iver: "What's an exorcist, mommy?"
Here's a great Flipgram that aunt/Godmother Kat made for Iver:
Here's what Iver was doing at
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Birth
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One
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Two
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Three
Can't wait to see what he's doing/asking at five!
